PITTSBURGH, Pa. - August 7, 2023 - Chatham Athletics is pleased to announce the hiring of James Koval as the next Head Coach of the Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving programs.

"I am extremely excited for the opportunity to work at Chatham," Koval shared. "I believe wholeheartedly in the potential of this swimming and diving program."

Koval joins the Cougars from close by, serving as the assistant swim coach at Carnegie Mellon University for the past two seasons. During his time with the Tartans, CMU swimmers and divers combined to set 27 new school records, and both the men's and women's teams placed in the top 15 in the same season for the first time in school history in 2022. Koval's roles at CMU included assisting on-deck and with recruiting, curating social media accounts, teaching a beginner swim course to CMU students, and organizing a swim lessons fundraising program for the team.

"We are excited to welcome Coach Koval to the staff," said Vice President of Athletics and Recreation Leonard Trevino. "He is known as a hard worker who will work tirelessly to increase our team size and competitiveness."

Prior to his time at Carnegie Mellon, Koval worked for five years at various clubs and high schools in western Pennsylvania, including Seneca Valley Swim Club, the Uniontown Area YMCA, and Laurel Highlands High School, where he helped the Mustangs to a third-place finish at WPIALs in 2020.

Koval attended West Virginia University, his father's alma mater, and competed for four years as a long-distance freestyler.  He earned Big 12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2018 and finished ranked top 4 in WVU school history in the 1000 and 1650 freestyle. Koval graduated from WVU with a bachelors' degree in chemical engineering in 2018, and with a masters' degree in the same in 2020 before deciding to pursue a career in coaching.